Tom Watson goes for history - trying to become the oldest winner of a golf major, in this case the British Open. The final round at Turnberry (where Watson had his legendary (for golf fans anyway) duel with Nicklaus) is must watching for golf aficionados (Spanish is IN, as Larry Wilmore might say.) You can follow online here. One interesting sidebar - Watson's closest opponent, Englishman Ross Fisher, has said he will leave the final round if his wife goes into labor today (she is due apparently.) Interesting question - is he a mensch for doing this or a louse for playing the tournament in the first place?

The Tour de France heads to the Swiss Alps today with a mountain top finish. Lance Armstrong and Johan Bruyneel (team manager of Astana, the Armstrong team (Contador is ostensibly the team leader, but Bruyneel is working for Armstrong)) spent the night deflecting criticism from George Hincapie. It seems not to have worked. The NYTImes late filing has this: "Rich Hincapie said that his brother was saddened that the Garmin-Slipstream team and Astana had been working out at the front of the pack Saturday, while the breakaway struggled to stay out front. . . . “I don’t think he has called the Astana guys or the Garmin guys to say anything, but there have been an awful lot of excuses flying around,” he said. “Why do they feel like they have to explain anything if they haven’t done anything wrong? They are obviously guilty or worried.”" Yep. Anyway, today's stage should be dramatic. You can watch it on Versus or online here.

Update - Contador explodes up the mountain. Demolishes the field. Takes yellow.

This is an Open Thread. You can even talk about politics or the criminal law if you like.

Congratulations to bloggers Chris Bowers (Open Left) and Natasha Chart who got married today.

Political adviser Joe Trippi has an apology up for having blogged without disclosing some of his professional relationships. It's very personal and more than he should have had to explain. I've always liked Joe, more than most of the candidates he represents, I hope this is a non-issue that blows over like yesterday.

McJoan at Daily Kos has a wrap-up of the week's Health Care Reform news.

Medical Marijuana is now bringing big bucks to the economy in California. And, you can order it and have it delivered as fast as a pizza. [More...]

The Wall St. Journal reports today that President Obama may be considering a big change in the way the U.S. interrogates high-value detainees.

The Obama administration is considering overhauling the way terror suspects are interrogated by creating a small team of professionals drawn from across the government, according to people familiar with a proposal that will be submitted to the White House.

The new unit, comprising members of spy services and law-enforcement agencies, would be used for so-called high-value detainees, they said. In a switch from Bush-era efforts, it wouldn't be run by the Central Intelligence Agency, though who might be in charge isn't specified.

Among the expected changes: [More...]

Reuters:

Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya agreed on Saturday to give his enemies a share of power if he is allowed to return to office, but they rejected any deal that puts him back in the presidency. Zelaya, who was toppled in a military coup on June 28 and is in exile in neighboring Nicaragua, backed the proposal for a government of national reconciliation put forward by the mediator in talks aimed at ending Honduras' political crisis.

. . . Costa Rica's Nobel Peace Prize-winning president, Oscar Arias la[id] out seven points for discussion, including Zelaya's return to power to complete his term ending in January 2010 and the formation of a coalition government with all the country's political parties represented. Arias also proposed an amnesty for any political crimes committed after the coup and that Zelaya abandon his plans to hold a referendum on extending presidential terms. But a spokesman for Micheletti's interim government again insisted it will not allow Zelaya's return to power.

(Emphasis supplied.) Strange that. Seems the logical compromise. I wonder what is behind this refusal. Zelaya obviously has given up the dream of becoming the Honduran Chavez.

Speaking for me only

Tom Watson leads the British Open. If he can hold on tomorrow, he will become the oldest winner of a major championship.

In the Tour de France, George Hincapie, a former teammate of Lance Armstrong, who tipped Armstrong off regarding a move by Hincapie's new team in Stage 3, got scr*wed by Armstrong and his team today (Astana set the pace in the peloton for no discernible reason), keeping Hincapie from the glory of the yellow jersey. Hincapie was quite angry about it. (AP, which apparently does not have access to Versus, where Frankie Andreu interviewed a visibly angry Hincapie, who called out Astana by name), falsely reported that Hincapie had no reaction. The Tour will be decided this week in the Alps. My money remains on Contador.

This is an Open Thread.

Can Tom Watson win the British Open? Watch this morning's 3rd round to see if he can stay in contention. He is currently tied for the lead.

The Tour de France heads to the Alps to end the Tour (before the traditional last stage that ends down the Champs Elysees.)

This is an Open Thread.

We've covered politics all day. Time for something different. Country music singer Wes Hayden, who as I've frequently written, is mad as h*ll about the way he was edited on the Bachelorette, is coming out swinging.

Hayden was portrayed as a ruthless player who wasn't on the show to find love, but instead had a secret girlfriend and a larger motive to promote his singing career. Now Hayden says he's on a mission to clear his name. He is denying that he had a girlfriend while taping the show, and he says he's a victim of creative editing. "I signed a contract with them, so I knew they could portray my character any way they saw fit," Hayden said. "But they have totally slandered me and taken my words and put them out of context. They cut, they paste, they left vital sentences out."

Sounds like Wes has lawyered up and a battle may be brewing. I'll bet it's good for both Wes and the show. [More...]

I'm sure there's lots of news today besides what we've covered. If you're online tonight, and feel like discussing something else, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

For those of you watching TV, Big Brother 11 has an interesting development. Seems the house contains several bigoted residents who have made racial, misogynistic and homophobic comments. There's been a pretty big outcry on the entertainment boards and blogs about it. [More...]

RIP:

Walter Cronkite, who pioneered and then mastered the role of television news anchorman with such plain-spoken grace that he was called the most trusted man in America, died Friday, his family said. He was 92.

Update (TL): Here's his famous clip announcing the assassination of JFK:

The ACLU has now weighed in on the Senate's passage of the Hate Crimes Law. In a nutshell, the ACLU says the House version is okay but the Senate version is not.

the Senate version of the hate crimes bill lacks the strong protections for speech and association included in legislation passed by the House of Representatives in June. The American Civil Liberties Union believes that without the speech and association protections included in the House bill, the Senate hate crimes legislation could have a chilling effect on constitutionally protected speech and membership.

[More...]

The New York jury deliberating the case of DeWight Lee, charged with killing of Lateisha Green (legal name Moses Cannon), a transgender person, rejected the prosecution's argument for Second Degree Murder (with or without the hate crime attached) and returned a guilty verdict of First Degree Manslaughter (with the hate crime enhancement.)

The manslaughter finding was a determination that DeLee was only intending to seriously injure -- not kill -- someone when he fired one shot from a .22-caliber rifle into the car in which the victim was sitting with two others.

The difference:

The murder charge accuses DeLee of intentionally killing Cannon. First-degree manslaughter would require a finding he only acted intentionally to cause serious physical injury but caused the victim's death instead. Second-degree manslaughter would mean the jury found DeLee acted recklessly by consciously disregarding the risk posed by his conduct [More...]

U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) today issued the following statement regarding his intent to support the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be Associate Justice on the United States Supreme Court.

"Given her judicial record, and her testimony this week, it is my determination that Judge Sotomayor is well-qualified to serve as Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. "Judge Sotomayor is knowledgeable of the law, would be a fair and impartial judge, and seems to have a good understanding of the limited role the judiciary plays in our democracy.

"Judge Sotomayor's rise to the Supreme Court is testimony to the fact that the American dream continues to be attainable. As an Hispanic American, I take great pride in Judge Sotomayor's historic achievement. Given her qualifications and testimony this week, I intend to vote in favor of her confirmation."

When I get copy of Senator Olympia Snowe's statement announcing her support for Sotomayor, I will post it here.